


Swimming Fool

by Rewv



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups & Lee Jihoon | Woozi are Best Friends, Drowning, Leader line, Lifeguard Jihoon, Lifeguard Seungkwan, M/M, fake drowning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26052244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rewv/pseuds/Rewv
Summary: Soonyoung is spending his summer at The Community Pool With the Hot Lifeguard - pretending to drown.
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups & Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 76





	Swimming Fool

Jihoon pulled his sun hat off his head hurriedly, placing it on his empty seat as he turned to scurry down the lifeguard post. He slipped his flip flops off at the bottom of the ladder, turning around and gracefully diving into the deep end of the community pool. He propelled himself underwater for as long as he could before surfacing right behind the drowning boy.

Jihoon wrapped his arms around the boy - who looked about his age - from behind, securing the other in his arms and keeping him above the water.

“I got you, you’re okay.” He recited, attempting to calm the panicking swimmer.

“Sheesh, Jihoon, it’s the same thing every time. So impersonal.” The boy said amidst catching his breath.

Jihoon couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “Soonyoung, I only do this because I would get fired if I didn’t. I would love thirteen fifty an hour to let you drown, believe me.”

Soonyoung chuckled, Jihoon struggling to keep up the conversation while dragging the other to the edge of the pool, “You would never let me die.”

Jihoon hauled Soonyoung’s body up onto dry land, most definitely breaking protocol, using his arms to pull himself up enough to swing his legs out of the water. He didn’t waste any time waiting for Soonyoung to readjust, standing and heading back towards his lifeguard post.

“Jihoon!” Soonyoung whined, laying on his stomach and reaching a hand out weakly, as if he couldn’t get up on his own. Unfortunately for Jihoon, if he were to just leave Soonyoung there, he might end up with his manager in his face for leaving a victim alone on the side of the pool. So, with a heaving sigh, he turned back around to help Soonyoung up.

“I really don’t know what you’re trying to do here, Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung let out an exaggerated gasp, “What I’m trying to _do_? Jihoon, I was _drowning_.”

Jihoon scowled, shaking off the hand Soonyoung still had clasped tight in his after being helped up, “You’ve been ‘drowning’ every other day for the past week! I honestly can’t tell if you have some secret agenda to prevent me from helping other people who are _actually_ drowning or if you’re just that stupid that you keep going to the deep end when you can’t swim!”

Soonyoung pouted, “You think I pretend to drown everyday so you can save me because I want other people to die?”

Jihoon’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean ‘so I can save you’?”

Soonyoung looked hurt, “You haven’t realized?”

“Realized what?”

Soonyoung started laughing, “And you think _I’m_ stupid!”

“What are you talking about?” Jihoon felt his anger reach a boiling point, but he wasn’t sure what to do with it. What _could_ he do? Knock Soonyoung over? Throw him back in the pool? That would be counterintuitive. He opted to glare angrily, fists clenched by his sides, wishing for all the world that he wasn’t currently on the job so he could personally drown Soonyoung and not lose gas money when he didn’t save him. Though he might lose a bit more than gas money if he did the drowning - maybe it was a good thing he was working.

“Nevermind. It’s pointless if I tell you.” Soonyoung turned on his heel, sauntering back towards his lounge chair and yelling over his shoulder, “See you tomorrow, Jihoon! I await your life saving strong embrace!”

Curious as he was, Jihoon was no cat, so he let the anger run its course. His arms shook violently at his sides and his jaw clenched, teeth grinding, before he stomped back to the lifeguard stand. He slid his flip flops back on and climbed the ladder, gripping the rungs so tight his knuckles turned white. Mumbling curses more colorful than the pride flag, he shoved his itchy sun hat back on his head and plopped himself down in the hard, plastic seat.

Jihoon absolutely despised this job.

* * *

Jihoon was in the pool once again, legs propelling him deftly through the chlorinated waters as he approached his target. After one last powerful kick, he wrapped his arms tightly around the other boy in the deep end. He used his natural buoyancy and a couple more kicks to propel himself and his payload to the surface, breaking out into the dry summer air with a sharp inhale. A second head pierced the water directly after, the connected body still wrapped in Jihoon’s arms.

“You’re not getting away this time!”

“Oh yeah? Watch me!”

The boy in Jihoon’s arms began to squirm, treading water faster and harder, and attempting to peel Jihoon’s hands off of him. In one swift movement, he kicked backwards, heel colliding directly with Jihoon’s groin, causing the other to let go instantly in order to instinctively protect his fragile area from coming to more harm. No more harm was needed, though, as the previously entrapped boy was now furiously half-freestyle half-doggy paddling his way across the pool, back towards the shallows.

Jihoon swallowed his groans of pain, closing his eyes and tilting his head back for a moment in order to reorient himself and make sure he stayed afloat. Bobbing safely above the surface, he cast a lifeguard’s gaze over the water, searching for the escapee. Once he had him in his sights, Jihoon launched himself into a confident freestyle stroke, knowing for a fact that he was much faster and more agile in the water than the other boy.

It didn’t take long before he had caught up to the other, who was now clambering up the steps, pushing his way past children hanging upside down on the handrail in order to get out of the water before Jihoon reached him. He would be safer on land.

Jihoon followed close behind, pausing at the top of the steps to catch his breath before continuing to give chase. The other boy, however, had decided that he would be _running_ down the side of the pool, towards the diving boards.

“Seungcheol! No running!” Jihoon called out, lifeguard instincts taking over and mixing with genuine worry for his reckless best friend.

“You’re not on the job! You can’t tell me what to do!” Seungcheol continued to run, laughing over his shoulder.

Shaking his head, Jihoon attempted to reach Seungcheol at a brisk walk, knowing that even if he wanted to run, break the rules when he wasn’t on the job, he couldn’t, because the other lifeguard on duty today, Seungkwan, was a huge blabbermouth and an even bigger tattletale who would report Jihoon to their manager faster than a stone sunk in the shallows. This was something Seungcheol knew, and he did with this information what no teacher had ever seemed to be able to make him do with any knowledge - use it.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only piece of Jihoon knowledge he had on hand, and before Jihoon could even step in Seungcheol’s puddles, the older had climbed the ladder of the highest diving board. Now, at sixteen feet above the surface of the water, he looked down at Jihoon - something not difficult to do and something he did all the time anyways - with a devastatingly smug grin.

Jihoon glared up at him, now rooted to his spot at the side of the pool. He would go nowhere near the diving boards, let alone chase Seungcheol up one. But Seungcheol had to jump at some point, so Jihoon decided he would wait. He lowered himself to the edge of the pool, letting his legs hang submerged in the water. Being a lifeguard was boring and frustrating and tiring, but it had its perks, and the one that came particularly in handy at this moment in time, was patience. Jihoon had learned to sit calmly and wait - for hours on end. He shot Seungcheol a look that said _I could do this all day_.

Finally, after what had felt like an hour but was definitely only around ten minutes, Seungcheol stood up from where he had been sitting at the back of the diving board, near the ladder. He glanced down at Jihoon, who was still sitting patiently and staring upwards with an expression of faux innocence, a look that said _Who? Me?_. Knowing he had to come down, Seungcheol scanned the area, planning his escape before he jumped.

Step one, cannonball, temporarily blinding Jihoon. Step two, swim towards the shallows. Step three, find a group of kids. Step four, blend in. It was foolproof. Seungcheol was quite proud of this plan. So proud, in fact, that while he was thinking of it, he forgot to check how much diving board was left in front of his feet. He took a step, expecting to take another, and instead, his foot landed on air and he plunged off the edge of the diving board with a scream so high pitched that his middle school friends would have teased him for months.

Seungcheol flailed his arms wildly, the feeling of falling mixing with overwhelming fear as he spun out of control and crash landed in the water back-first, all the air in his lungs pushing out of his mouth. He knew he was sinking and he knew he needed to get to the surface, but he was still in shock and still disoriented, so he had no idea which way he should swim. His already limited air was running out fast and he opened his eyes, exposing them to the chlorine. They would burn later, but this was life or death. Attempting to find light, he swung his head around in all directions, but he was still dizzy from the fall, and panic started to set in when he couldn’t determine which way was up.

So this was it. This was how Choi Seungcheol died. He fell off a diving board and drowned. Put that on the tombstone. What a way to go. Just as Seungcheol was beginning to accept his fate, bidding his family goodbye and writing his will mentally in the hopes that maybe somehow they would figure out that he wanted his mini dirt bike to go to his super cool math teacher and not his older brother, he felt arms around his middle and a chest against his back. Hooked beneath his armpits, Seungcheol was dragged to the surface, gasping roughly for air as his head broke out into the sun.

“I got you, you’re okay.” A calm voice said by his ear.

Breathing slowing back to normal, Seungcheol let his limbs go limp and his head lean back onto the shoulder of his savior as he was slowly pulled to shore. He stared at the sky blankly, appreciating it much more than he had that morning, when he’d cursed it for filling itself with clouds and hiding the sun. The sun which he had also cursed earlier for making him wear greasy sun lotion and the sun which he now appreciated for drying the water droplets in his nostrils. He didn’t bother to help his savior get him out of the pool, still in shock (and still thinking about all the things he took for granted like a high school student high on marijuana for the first time).

Soon enough, his bare back was flat against warm concrete, sending goosebumps over his skin at the temperature contrast, and there was a face blocking out the sun. The face’s mouth was moving, and Seungcheol could tell there was sound coming out, but it took a moment for the water to dribble out of his ear canals before the muffled voice became clear.

“Seungcheol! Seungcheol! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Seungcheol!”

Seungcheol refocused his eyes, gaze meeting with that of a very distressed looking Jihoon. There was a hand on his bicep, shaking it, and another hand on his cheek, patting it between shakes of his arm.

“Yeah. Yeah, Jihoon. I’m...okay.”

Jihoon visibly deflated in relief, sitting back onto his heels, tense shoulders dropping as he sighed, head falling to let his forehead rest on Seungcheol’s stomach. His hands stopped shaking and patting, coming to stillness where they were. Seungcheol brought his free arm up to pat Jihoon on the back, carefully sitting up and wrapping the arm fully around the smaller, pulling him into a hug. He rested his chin on the top of Jihoon’s head, which was now pressed against Seungcheol’s chest, one arm slung over the older’s shoulder where it had fallen from his cheek and the other around his side, pinning Seungcheol’s arm down.

The two sat in the weird one-armed hug for a few moments, Seungcheol attempting to convey his gratitude through the gesture as he slowly emerged from the hazy shock of a near-death experience. Jihoon’s head moved with the rhythm of Seungcheol’s slow breathing, his own exhales still desperately trying to slow down.

“Jihoon!” A voice came from behind, the squelching and clacking of flip flops through puddles getting closer. The boy of said namesake removed himself from his best friend, his attempts at slow breathing abandoned, and Seungcheol only caught a glimpse of his face - brow furrowed, lips in a thin line - before he had turned fully and stood up in an instant to face Seungkwan.

“Jihoon, is your friend-”

“Where the hell were you!?” Jihoon exploded. Seungkwan’s jaw dropped. “Seungcheol was _drowning_! You’re the lifeguard on duty! Your _only_ job is to make sure that _doesn’t_ happen! But I look up to the lifeguard stand and what do I see? Oh! That’s right! An _empty_ seat.”

“Jihoon, I-”

“So guess who had to do it? Guess who had to save his life? Oh! That’s _right_!” Jihoon let out a dramatically humorless laugh, “Me! The _off_ duty lifeguard! The one taking his weekend to try and actually _enjoy_ this miserable place for once! I can’t believe you-”

“Jihoon!” Seungkwan shouted, now looking frustrated. “You didn’t see me on the stand because I was already in the water when he fell! I was swimming out to get him! I mean look at me! I’m soaked! But you’re a faster swimmer, and you got there before me. It’s not my fault you react quickly when cute boys are drowning!”

Jihoon blushed a furious red, the tips of his ears burning. He spluttered to find words, “I- What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Seungkwan rolled his eyes, shifting his gaze to give Seungcheol, who was still sitting on the cement and also blushing at the lifeguard’s comment, a quick once over. He blushed harder.

“You’re not blind, Jihoon, I don’t care how many excuses you make, but I know you save Soonyoung everyday faster than you’ve ever saved a child.”

“Kids float!” Jihoon shot back, knowing it was a losing battle, “And what does Soonyoung have to do with any of this?”

“Soonyoung has to do with the fact that you do your job better when someone you care about is dying.”

“I don’t _care_ about Soonyoung.” Jihoon spit out the word care with disgust, as if it offended him, but his cheeks flushed red, his body betraying him.

Seungkwan burst into laughter, “Don’t _care_ about Soonyoung? That’s the funniest thing you’ve ever said to me, Jihoon. Now if you don’t mind, I need to get back to doing my job instead of standing here and being your therapist. Good luck!” the on duty lifeguard spun on his heel - or at least attempted to; flip flops made that difficult - and marched back to the stand, Jihoon glaring at his back the whole way.

There was a hand on Jihoon’s shoulder, making him jump in surprise - he had been so focused on burning holes in the back of Seungkwan’s head that he’d forgotten Seungcheol was still there.

“Maybe we should go home. I think the chlorine is getting to your head.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” Jihoon huffed, turning around.

When he saw Seungcheol’s face, concerned and still pale from the entire ordeal, he let the anger melt from his own expression. Jihoon threw his arms around his best friend, who did the same.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

They spent a moment in silence, the hug conveying both Seungcheol’s gratitude and Jihoon’s relief. Seungcheol moved a hand up and down Jihoon’s back to comfort him, resting his cheek on the top of the shorter boy’s head.

He knew it was a bad idea, and he knew it would only end in a slap to the back of the neck, but Seungcheol couldn’t help teasing Jihoon, “So you think I’m cute?”

His prediction was correct.

* * *

The next week, Jihoon was back on the stand, watching the waters carefully and praying that Soonyoung didn’t show up. He’d spent the better half of his morning shift arguing with his conscience, attempting to settle on one of two courses of action he could take when, not if, Soonyoung ‘drowned’ again today. It was inevitable, and Jihoon knew that, but he also knew that if he saved Soonyoung again, Seungkwan would use it against him forever. So, his pride won out, and he decided absolutely that if Soonyoung tried his schtick again, so be it, but Jihoon’s ass was not leaving this rock hard plastic seat.

It was almost exciting, knowing what would transpire by the end of the day. Soonyoung would walk through the front gate with a towel slung over his shoulder, a smug look on his face - _his face with that strong jawline and those elegantly sharp eyes_ \- and he would saunter over to a poolside lounge chair. He’d put the towel down, and then take off his shirt - _revealing a toned chest and beautifully tan skin_ \- before shooting Jihoon a - _dangerous_ \- glance. Then he would jump in the pool - _a careless jump, happy, free, innocent_ \- and make his way to the middle of the deep end - _every stroke showing off muscles so toned they were offensive_. From there, he would begin his performance - _dramatically shameless, endearingly committed_ \- in which he would splash and flail and shout - _making sure to look at the lifeguard stand expectantly_.

But this time, Jihoon would just look back. He wouldn’t move, and eventually, Soonyoung would be forced to stop. He would stop flailing, stop shouting. The dramatic splashing would stop and his - _soft, squishy_ \- cheeks would flush tomato red. He’d be embarrassed beyond belief, and he would proceed into a Swim of Shame back to the edge of the pool. And Jihoon would feel powerful, sitting high atop his post, looking down at the embarrassed fool. And then the defeated fool would walk out, never to return to Jihoon’s domain. It was foolproof.

An hour later, Jihoon’s plan was put into action. Just as he’d imagined, Soonyoung walked in with a smug look - _the sun shining just so as to highlight his cheekbones_ \- and put his towel down on a lounge chair. Pulling his shirt off, he headed towards the poolside, smiling - _brightly, in a way that would make any heart flutter_ \- up at the lifeguard stand before cannonballing with a - _fleetingly innocent and chill-inducing_ \- laugh, water splashing over the edges of the pool - _as if the concrete walls were not enough to contain Soonyoung’s bubbly personality_.

Jihoon rooted himself to the chair, hands clasped on the armrests to assure himself that this was still a good idea. He watched as Soonyoung prepared to drown, prepared to be saved. Not this time. The flailing began, and then the shouting.

“Help! Help me!”

It was clear that the locals had figured out Soonyoung’s scheming, and none looked too worried about the boy. They all looked away, opting to instead watch their children thrash about in the shallows, or to talk to the other PTA members having lunch by the pool.

Soonyoung continued to splash and shout, occasionally glancing up at the lifeguard stand through the waves. Jihoon held firm, determined, his pride guiding his actions. In the moment of one of these glances, Soonyoung failed to see a child catapulting off the diving board. The child landed nearly on top of the actor, feet yanking downwards on Soonyoung’s arm and spinning him into the water wildly, submerging his head mid-scream and turning him nearly upside down. Jihoon cringed, but remained seated.

Mere seconds later it became clear that the child had completely disoriented Soonyoung, who now seemed to genuinely be flailing to find his way to the surface. Jihoon’s chest tightened, but he reassured himself that it was all an act, that Soonyoung was fine, and in just a moment he’d be back at the surface, turning tomato red and taking a Swim of Shame back to the wall. _He’s fine_ became a mantra, repeating itself in Jihoon’s head, turning itself over, twisting and turning and sinking in claws that barred Jihoon from defying his pride. He couldn’t let Seungkwan win. He didn’t care about Soonyoung. He didn’t care.

Now Soonyoung’s flailing was fading, as if a slow motion effect had been applied to his limbs. His legs, previously kicking at nothing, now went limp, body turning so his back faced the surface. Natural buoyancy brought his torso surface-side, face down, bobbing in the wake of other swimmers.

It was at that moment that Jihoon panicked. Soonyoung was not acting. He pried the mantra from his frontal lobe, scurrying down the ladder and throwing items to the side carelessly - sun hat, flip flops, shirt, all discarded as Jihoon dove skillfully into the unheated water. He dolphin-kicked his way underwater, breaking the surface right next to the clearly unconscious Soonyoung. Treading water, he flipped the other over so his face was out of the water, hooking him beneath the armpits and making his way back to shore.

All his training kicked in to get Soonyoung out of the water, and it wasn’t long before Jihoon was hovering over what looked for all the world like a dead body. His breaths came quick and short, chest tight, fighting with all his might against the panic. He had a responsibility and he needed to fulfill it. He needed to save Soonyoung’s life.

Jihoon placed his ear near Soonyoung’s mouth, listening for any sort of breath, simultaneously checking behind the other’s ear for a pulse. He heaved a sigh of relief when he found both. He placed both hands on Soonyoung’s chest, one on top of the other, and began the appropriate amount of compressions. It was then Jihoon realized that he was performing CPR, and that meant the next step was supplying air. This was life or death, and there was no time to consider what was happening, so Jihoon hunched down, holding Soonyoung’s nose and connecting their open mouths.

_Don’t think about it, just breathe_.

Jihoon performed the entire procedure, continuing compressions and dipping down to provide air, until finally, there was a spluttering cough and Soonyoung’s eyes were open.

“Jihoon?” he croaked out.

The lifeguard exhaled heavily in relief, resting his forehead on the hands he still had placed on Soonyoung’s chest, “Soonyoung. You’re alive.”

There was a pause where Jihoon almost thought he should check for a pulse again just to be sure he hadn’t dreamed the success, but then Soonyoung put a hand on his shoulder.

“Did you just do CPR on me?”

Jihoon raised his head to meet Soonyoung’s gaze, “Yeah.”

Soonyoung lifted his head, features shifting into something smug, “That means we kissed.”

Jihoon, still coming down from the adrenaline rush, couldn’t even find the energy to shove the other in protest. Instead, he laughed.

“You absolute idiot.”

And without a second thought, he leaned back down to _actually_ kiss Soonyoung.


End file.
